Steph Curry's ongoing quest to be both the NBA's No. 1 Babyface and Heel (a deep kayfabe with Draymond is already underway) had a curious little wrinkle last night. After hitting a step-back jumper over Jrue Holliday, Steph stuck his hand out for some love from New Orleans assistant coach Darren Erman and Erman obliged. This isn't the first we've seen of Steph's in-game high-fiving. There was the time last season when he dapped Andre Iguodala before the ball dropped, but last night's display of swagger came with a side of intrigue.In 2014, both a few years and a lifetime ago, the Warriors had a toxic top-down culture that ultimately led to the firing of head coach Mark Jackson, even though he'd taken Golden State to the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time in 22 years. (We hear his replacement Steve Kerr has righted the ship.) One of the bizarre subplots of that season was an assistant named Darren Erman getting shitcanned for secretly taping conversations between players and coaches like some Under Armour Richard Nixon.Here's the goods from the ESPN report:"Sources said Erman, who was coach Mark Jackson's second assistant, would record coaches' meetings, meetings between the coaches and players, and informal discussions among coaches that took place in the team's coaches room -- all without the participants' knowledge.'He was taping everything,' one source said. 'Taping pregame speeches wouldn't have been that bad, but he was taping guys just sitting around talking in the coaches' office.'Sometimes Erman would be present during the tapings. Other times, he would leave the room and leave his phone behind to record conversations the other coaches were having.'"Clearly becoming Harry Caul in Converse hasn't adversely affected Erman's career, as he has gone on to become both a Pelicans assistant and a bit player in Steph Curry's villainous Coach High-Five turn.'I know [Erman] very well,' Curry said. 'He was telling I think Jrue [Holiday], while I was shooting, 'If he makes it, it's a good shot, if he makes it, it's a good shot,' trying to encourage the defense. So I wanted a little praise for that good shot, and he gave it to me. He was a good sport.'"The plot, it thickens.As for the game itself, it was a rough loss for the Pelicans. Anthony Davis had 28/8/5, but got stripped by a certain testes-dapping gnat who posted his first triple-double of the season with 12/12/10.Davis was rightfully furious, but he was also lacking focus, as he was clearly distracted by the Taxslayer Bowl.
Advertisement